All Equal At the Cross - The Need To Trust Jesus By Faith, Share With Others

 What do you have in common with George Muller (cared for thousands of orphans in Christian orphanages), Fanny Crosby (great hymn writer, blind from near birth after a childhood illness), and Billy Sunday (a great evangelist)?

Okay, some may have said something silly like “we’re humans who lived in the last 200 years.” Seriously, though, have you called on Jesus by faith to save you from your sin and make you new inside? Then, you will be able to say you got to Heaven the exact same way as them. By the blood of Jesus. No wonder, with the glories of Heaven waiting, if someone says Christians want to take over the world, you can say: “Don’t worry, real followers of Jesus have a home in Heaven. We wouldn’t want this place.”

It’s sure not what people dream of. Fairy tales talk of wishing on some random star, and folks like me get teary at happy endings as they remind us of simpler days, because we long for a time when we knew everything would turn out okay in every story. Jesus will make this world all loving & peaceful, and we should tell people that. But, we humans can’t fix things on our own, we’re not perfect like Him. We’d mess it up.

More about that and ow to reply later. But, think about how we’re all equal at the cross. Sure, the others have great rewards. And, you can, too. But, the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:11-15) is like at the Olympics. It’s based on what you did for God with the skills and chances you had. A poor poet isn’t judged just like Fanny Crosby. She didn’t need sight to do all she did. All she – or any of us–   needed was to trust in God’s grace. She did, & will be richly rewarded for how she used her gifts to celebrate Jesus.

When it comes to salvation, though, everyone in Heaven will get there the same way: The blood of Jesus cleansing them from sin.

People tend to need thigns to be fair – even if that just means “I want what he/she has.” Well, first, if they have a wheelchair since they can’t walk, you might want to think again. 😊  Seriously, you can tell people about that equality – you’ll get into Heaven the same way as those great people of God. Yet, if a person thinks they could “get what they’ve earned,” you can talk about the eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ, just emphasizing that salvation itself is a free gift, not earned, and they must receive it by faith.

If you can trust God with your eternal soul, then you can trust Him with the shortages we might have if He delays His return. But, put that aside for a moment. Let’s think more about how we’ll get to Heaven the same way as anyone.

We learned about Jesus coming for His Bride, the Church, in the Rapture. One of the best arguments against a partial Rapture is that nobody gets to Heaven by their works. If a person has trusted Jesus as Saviour, then strayed from Him, God will pluck them out like the angels pulled Lot and his family out of Sodom before it was destroyed. And Heaven will be so grand, no one will look back like Lot’s wife, who became a pillar of salt – not, as I for some reason pictured when I was little, a salt shaker. This is likely poetic – she grew white as a sheet & had a serious stroke and died. (We have lots of salt in us – we didn’t know that then, but God did.)

So, if we’re relying on Jesus for our salvation, we can rely on Him when shortages come. 

I’ve said we should trumpet (or flute or cello or whatever you like) what we are for, and not so much what we’re against. That includes salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. We can share how Christians have been responsible for great charity works like hospitals, ending unjust laws, and other good things. The peace that passes understanding, hope, comfort, etc. through knowing Christ as Saviour by faith alone are also things we should share. Jesus gives those like nothing on Earth can.

Some things can mask the pain for a while, but remember what Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4? She’d have to get more water from a physical well. But, He had water which would spring up into everlasting life.

Part of the pattern Jesus used to teach us how to pray is "give us this day our daily bread." As you know, Jesus condemns "vain repetitions" in prayers (Mat. 6) but wants us to talk to Him,. That’s just an outline if we don't know what to say. One of those things is relying on food, shelter, and clothing for each day.

Most people throughout history had few clothes. My great-great-great grandma is in 3 pictures from when she's older. She always has the same dress and skirt. Many then only had 1-2 outfits. Yet God provided for them. We call her "barn door" by the way; the first picture we found of her in my great uncle's house was of her standing in a barn doorway. Think about what people 120 years from now would call you the next time you consider taking a selfie; I'll let you fill in the joke, there are many funny ones. :-)

This is, I guess, kind of why I always say don't be known just by what you're against. I mean, I've heard of people saying all they know about Christians is what they support or oppose. That's not just something funny like being known as "barn door." Louisa (Maillard) Blanchard had much more about her, I'm sure, than just the fact her family had a barn. (The other 2? One is with her husband and their 6 kids in 1893 on her daughter’s porch, and one of her with a number of kids & grandkids & a few great grandkids.) She may even get some rewards in Heaven because of this silly illustration she became part of.

But, "Heaven" is the important part. I think she knew Jesus as her Saviour. If so, she's in Heaven not because she was for or against the right thing (or had her picture taken in a barn door). Why would she be in Heaven? You know, of course; she was saved by grace through faith. She called on Jesus to save her from her sin. It doesn't matter what you're for or against if you don't know Jesus as Saviour.

Once we know Him, He guides us along the perfect plan He has for our lives. But, we still have freedom to choose. Some people choose things that He wouldn't like, and the Holy Spirit works in their hearts to get them to stop those things. But, each person has their own individual choices to make.

Back to inflation, shortages and so on, these are parts of life that can frustrate people. But, others had difficulties long ago, too. You couldn't just flip your only dress in a washing machine in 1900. It took hours to wash clothes. (So, uh, I'm sure that gives you questions you can look up on your own. :-) Although I don't think they really did more than wipe off some stuff, and they could sew other outfits if they wanted. Who knows, maybe one of you knows the answer to that. My mom said pennitcoasts were big back then – as in covering a lot – maybe they wore those to wash? She wasn’t sure, either.)

Okay, we're getting a little silly. The point is, you know “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me”(Phil. 4:13) well. It has important verses before it, including “I know both how to be abased and how to abound.” God’s Word is saying that when we trust fully in God, we can have peace that, no matter how bad times get, we can keep our faith knowing that God is there with the important things. We don’t have to have every luxury to be satisfied by Jesus; none of that can satisfy us like Him, anyway.

That’s one reason we hoped you’d go to camp; I hope many did. Camp was a week where you could get recharged spiritually, away from distractions.

Whether you went or not, you’ll need to take time each day to get with God and let Him help you through the day. With school starting soon, some of you could hear dire warnings about the planet, food, and other things.

If you’re not getting info on CBT the high school class activities, call the church and ask to be on the mailing list; Josh Vick head the high school ministry, call him at 330-477-6267. Insomnia will be great! Call fast so you get the date right. (Middle Schoolers can go to Insomnia, too, if it’s like before; invite your school and neighbors.)

Or, maybe you'll just find that kid who's really quiet at lunch worrying as you walk up to them and ask if there's anything they'd like to talk about. They might blurt, "Our planet is doomed!" You can be ready to help.

You can point people to Revelation and agree!

Of course, you need to add words of comfort. But, pray God works in hearts, and if God leads, it’d be fun to say, "Someone said one day, 1/3 of trees and all green grass would burn up, and all the fish in the sea would die, and people would be burned with scorching heat. And, they said this almost 2,000 years ago. And there'd be a global famine." Just to see their look when you tell them that's in Revelation.

Of course they might get scared. So, ask them right away if they want to know how to be saved from that. Then, share with them how to call on Jesus to save them from their sin; what sin is (our own selfishness, rebellion against God, etc.) and how Jesus died to take the punishment for their sins and rose from the dead. And, they just have to call on Him to save them from their sin and live in them and make them new inside.

The debate over whether God will let people have a part in their own destruction is older than the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Before agriculture improved to feed a *lot* more, in the 1790s Thomas Malthus thought there would be mass poverty and starvation because food production wouldn’t keep up with population growth .

At some point in the Tribulation, people will realize it's not all climate chaos causing the problems. But, that's one of those times - instead of trying to win arguments - we must be trying to win souls. If anyone feels more comfortable thinking God will let us do lots of the damage, that’s fine. I can see it happening either way.

So, if someonesays, "It has to be a sin to harm the planet or cause extinctions,” you can lead into the Gospel in a few different ways. You can talk about human nature - our sin nature is our ‘”want to,” our selfishness. It led to that problem. Even if we avoid a big carbon footprint, we still lie, act selfish, etc., in other areas. Or, you can say, "Yes, and perhaps God is letting us destroy this world. But, thankfully, we can be forgiven and saved, and go to His perfect Heaven where there will be no disease, no death, etc..  God gives us freedom to choose so we won’t be mindless robots. Choose His salvation.” 

This is what Spurgeon meant by making a straight line for the cross. 

I know it's difficult in school and anywhere. However, adults have similar problems being out of contact with other believers. I just got done messaging with Sudomah, a Nigerian believer who is a seafarer and spends 6-7 months on a boat each year. He asked for prayer for him to grow in Christ, I said I would mention him to you also, so you can pray, and I asked him to pray for youth in our schools.

If he can live a life like Daniel, you can. Keep following the Lord - do church online if nothing else. Read your Bible. Cool Kids Ministries on Youtube, Canton Baptist online, and other places will help you, if you can't meet with other believers in person. Most of you can worship with other beleivers, because you at least have believing families. :-) If you don’t, meet with some friends, online or in person, and worship and pray.

People think they can fix this world. We can’t on our own. It’ll take God coming back to clean up the waste and all that stuff.

Want to be really smart? If people say Christians want to take over the world, in addition to the above, say “That’s only if they follow a false doctrine known as ‘Kingdom Now.’” We can’t bring God’s Kingdom in ourselves. We’re not perfect. We can do lots of good like I mentioned with all the hospitals, helping the poor, and many other things. But, those who want to take over the world are in a very dangerous doctrine.

What’s the difference? We do good to glorify God and act as ambassadors showing who Jesus is. They do it to glorify themselves, even if they say it’s in Jesus’ name, because they don’t understand only Jesus can bring His kingdom in. It’s like if you’re French ambassador to Spain, and instead of telling people how nice France is and trying to get people to invest and expand their businesses to France, you try to make Spain just like France.  The Spanish must want to go to France because you’ve given them the choice.

Don’t get me wrong, Godly laws are vital – no killing, no stealing, etc. are moral laws. We should have Godly values. John Adams said the Constitution was “for a moral and religious people… inadequate for any other.” That’s why some Latin American nations failed who copied it after their independence. Their leaders were not committed to getting rid of corruption. That’s why nobody should be above the law. And yet, a lack of law and order causes other problems, as innocents are ravaged by people who think they can do what they want. No wonder it’ll take Jesus to rule this world and sort it all out.

For now, the right balance is to have leaders led by the Holy Spirit doing things to better this nation. Sadly, not a lot trust in God. 

So, be a leader. So many yearn for peace like years ago. Some never had it, even in their families. They likely thought it possible when little, though. Show them Jesus’ love & mercy. Go out of your way to do nice things for people without expecting anything. Just friendly smiles and politeness are unusual nowadays. Tell how God can give peace, comfort, unconditional love, etc. they’re looking for. Make sure they have heart knowledge if they say they know; because a lot just have head knowledge. By knowing Jesus personally, they can have the everlasting, unconditional love, comfort, peace, strength, etc. in them to get through these dark days, and know a wonderful home in Heaven awaits.

Here’s a good question to ask, “If you stood before God and He asked ‘Why should I let you into my perfect Heaven?’ what would you say?” IF they trust Jesus to save them and make them new inside, they’ll get all that and Heaven, too. (You can use https://godlife.com/en/gospel/4steps to help explain it to them.)